History Coursework: Kristallnacht

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Introduction

Seb Jenner 9/11/03 History Coursework: Kristallnacht a) I believe that an historian studying Kristallnacht would find source A the most useful. Source B shows that the Nazis had no part in Kristallnacht, they did not organise any demonstrations, but they did not stop them. Source A tells a different story, it tells us that the Nazi party organised the attacks and that there was no doubting Hitler's approval. I believe that source A is more likely what happened. This is partly because there is more detail (e.g. quotes) in the account but also because of what Hitler's attitude towards the Jews was. I also believe that source A is more reliable as it was written 16 years after the event. This means that it is less likely to be biased, as the Nazis could not influence it. Also source B was written by the Nazi party supreme court who would naturally act in the interests of the party, and would therefore not say that the attack had been planned. b) Source C gives the impression that Kristallnacht was not a spontaneous outburst by the German people, but an attack organised by the Nazis and carried out by the SS. ...read more.

Middle

Meaning that the public revolted against him when he attacked them. The disapproval of the German people is clearer in source G. The woman representing the German people has been tied up, indicating that the Nazi's we're suppressing the people by force. Both cartoons are telling us that the Nazi's are not acting as the general public wants, which could mean disaster. Source F is more of a warning to the Nazis, where as source G seems to express popular belief of that day, that the Nazis were ruling Germany by force. Also both cartoons show the Nazi with a club in his hand, standing over the ruins of Kristallnacht. This implies that Kristallnacht was carried out by the Nazi's not the public as they said it was. The club, especially the one in source F, strikes me as being quite a barbaric weapon. This could be trying to say that the attack on the Jews was barbaric. A bloody dagger is also shown; the fact that it is bloody shows that people (Jews) have been killed. Also, the dagger is often connected with the idea of murder, so the cartoon could also be saying that this attack was murderous. ...read more.

Conclusion

They had been provided with hammers, axes and fire bombs." This statement suggests that it was, in fact, a very barbaric attack. I think that after the Kristallnacht Hitler thought that the event had been a disaster. This is because all the Jewish buildings had been destroyed, and that no sense of order was displayed to the public. I do believe that many German people did not want the Jews in their towns and cities. This could have been due to Nazi propaganda, or due to jealousy. Many people were jealous of the Jews, because they tended to own all the money. They were the solicitors, the jewellers, the doctors, the teachers etc. So many thought that if they were got rid of then, the German public would generally be much better off. This is shown in source D; an account by a German Jew that describes the acts of terror on the Jews. However sources C, E and G suggest that the public were opposed to the concept of violent behaviour towards the Jews. Source C states that "all the local crowds were obviously horrified by the Nazis' acts." So in my opinion all the sources available to me suggest that Kristallnacht was organised by the Nazis and was opposed by general public who seem to have been stifled by force. ...read more.

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